King of the Jungle… the Lion.. really???

My word that week went rather quickly; I would say where did the time go but I’m sure I’ll be accounting for nearly every single second in this blog for months to come. My trip to Kenya was hugely enjoyable, as well as incredibly successful having taken over 4800 photos whilst there. To put that in to some sort of context, in old money that would be 134 36 exposure films and at around £5 per film, that would have cost in the region of £670! The beauty of digital photography.

Back to the image in a second but I must just mention one thing that happened whilst away and doesn’t really relate to my trip to Africa. I checked the stats and comments for my blog whilst away when I was able; I was rather surprised when on the 30th I had a greater number of visitors and comments. It turns out I was listed on WordPress as one of the top ten most prolific bloggers on the site, which when you consider there are over 348,000 users, that is some achievement. I plan to continue at least until the end of the year and hope that something might come from the effort that I have put into all this waffle. If nothing else, this accolade is very gratifying, though of course “most prolific” does not equate to “most interesting” in any way!

Today’s image was taken at the end of a long day, and a particularly long drive to find this elusive and particularly beautiful creature (it’s a Leopard). Our driver and guide had taken us to see a number of fantastic animals during this later afternoon Game Drive, at one point we were only a couple of meters away from four teenage lions that were all tucking into a zebra that had been killed earlier that morning. The sounds of ripping of sinue and the tearing of flesh wasn’t something for the squeamish but a real taste (not literally) of real life for these creatures.

After having watched a family of Cheetahs for at least thirty minutes, our driver suddenly had an agenda as he set off at a pace. When questioned what we were going to see next, the guide enigmatically answered a “surprise” – this could mean only one of two animals in reality – either a Rhino or Leopard. As we drove on, other vehicles were also making a beeline to the same location as we were heading towards – in fact, it was only as we crossed a river that we slowed down at all. Finally with the late afternoon sun bathing the green and golden grasses in its warming rays we spotted a leopard emerging from the cover. Despite it’s reputation as a secretive animal, it was totally unperturbed by the half dozen vehicles that had descended upon it and ambled on its way. We couldn’t have asked for a better photo opportunity when the cat jumped up on to a fallen tree and sat looking at its surroundings obviously looking for prey.

We were with the Leopard for around twenty minutes and counted ourselves incredibly lucky to have even seen one, let alone get as close to it. Heading back to camp we had another close encounter as we crossed over the Mara river again, as a couple of hippos had taken up residence rather close to the spot where we needed to cross. Despite a reputation for being aggressive and unpredictable, the hippos seemed unconcerned about our presence and in fact the Driver was more concerned about getting across than these flighty creatures.

i love animals so much why i don’t know at all maybe because i love life and i love nature maybe because i love who can make so happy when i am looking and seeing how much we have beast and not them at all because co cute so much they are searching for eat but when they are full and have babies they are so lovely no matter what they are i love animals so much true.

OMG! This certainly takes me back! I am born and raised in Kenya and the one thing I miss the most is our trips to Maasai Mara. I havent been back in 10 years and I want to visit but the tickets from US are so expensive :o|
Luv your blog!

I have a story about elephants I’ll be blogging about in the next few weeks – when I upload the photos of the specific encounter. I didn’t get as close as I had hoped – I wanted to get on the floor using a wide angle lens and fill the frame with one towering over me. Sadly I didn’t get close enough. Thanks for the comment.

Amazing picture of the leopard, lucky to see one. Iv lived in the bush for a great portion of my life and only see leopards a few times. There is no place like Africa, and there is a magnet that keep pulling you back there. I have been away now for 7 months and missing it, but also enjoying my travels in Thailand http://allansjourney.wordpress.com Have a great day.

Beautiful Leopard – gorgeous photograph… you lucky thing! I’ve been living in South Africa for 14 years now, and still have to spot a “full” leopard! Great post, and congratulations on being Freshly Pressed.

We were indeed very lucky to not only see this wonderful animals but for the light to be perfect and for it to jump up on the fallen tree. The planets were certainly aligned that day. Thanks for your kind comment.

I was in the Serengeti this past January and also saw the Leopard! I miss Africa sooo much! It’s just like the Lion King! Great post!
You can read about my travel at http://www.offtrackbackpacking.com.

Thanks – you must have some stamina – I’ve got loads of photos on Flickr! The good thing about photography is that there’s always something nearby to photograph (perhaps not Leopard or cheetahs though).

Beautiful pictures! Seeing a leapard so close to you must be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m glad he held still for you so we could all see too. I’ve always loved cats, big and small alike. On my blog, I’ve started a comic strip thread about a guy who develops a tiger complex after adopting two stray cats.

Leopards are beautiful animals. When I was in South Africa we saw a leopard slowly walk in front of our vehicle, grouch into the grass, and then attack and kill an impala. It happened so fast! Amazing animals.

Stunning shot. A rare event indeed, glad you had the opportunity to embrace it. What camera are you using if you don’t mind me asking? Your steady hand definitely shows up in your craft. Well done Andrew.

Thanks. Currently using a Canon 1D4 along with a number of lenses. In this case I had a 600mm, with a 1.5x and 2x convertor attached. Didn’t have room for a tripod so I have to use a bean bag and a the vehicle seat to steady the lens… which was no mean feat.

I love the photos, Africa is such an amazing wildlife reserve and there is always lot more to see than animals: The people, the natural settings, unspoiled culture and traditions its all amazing. You should come back again and this time come and visit Tanzania too.

Absolutely – the natural world is incredibly humbling esp when you’re up so close to it. I have a couple of nice closeups of the Leopard which I’ll be posting to Flickr and possible here in a week or two. Thanks for the comment.

Wow, what an awesome story for such a great photo. You killed with that shallow depth of field and the leopard’s fur is so rich in color… Perfect opportunity seized! You are truly gifted at this stuff! Thanks for sharing this great photo and post. Congrats on being freshly pressed, and being named one of the most prolific bloggers! I just saw this documentary called Discover The Gift and it talks about the gift that we all came to share with the world, including ourselves, our loved ones and those who could help us bring our gift our more [teachers, guides, etc]. Gratitude was also an important theme in the documentary, among many other things. I really recommend it! Thanks again 🙂 http://on.fb.me/n57FHB

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